With No Escape From the Blistering Heat, Big Mama Dug for Her Life 

PETA Fieldworkers Go Looking for Forgotten, Chained Backyard Dogs 

This is how we found Big Mama: desperate as the unrelenting North Carolina sun burned her skin, scorched the patch of dirt she was chained to, and turned her only shelter into a sweltering oven. So she did the only thing she could, digging deeper and deeper into the earth for any relief cooler soil could offer. 

PETA’s Community Animal Project fieldworkers often find neglected outdoor dogs trapped in the dangerous summer heat, frantically panting on tangled chains without a drop of water or sliver of shade. Some are plagued by flystrike, a miserable condition in which biting flies chew at their ears until they are raw and bloody. Some have buckets green with algae and nothing but a plastic barrel or stifling box for shelter. Some have succumbed to the heat. 

Our fieldworkers hang tarps that block glaring rays, fill empty food bowls, leave buckets of water that thirsty dogs gratefully gulp, and distribute toys to help fill the endless, lonely hours. They pluck away ticks, put on flea medicine, and apply ointment to ears eaten away by flies drawn to the soiled areas in which the dogs are forced to live. They give scratches and speak gently, letting the dogs know that someone cares. During every visit, fieldworkers plead with owners to bring their dogs inside or allow them a chance at adoption. And sometimes, persistence pays off. 

Chico: Found Chained to a Cinderblock 

PETA’s fieldworkers found Chico tied to a trampoline in a trash-strewn yard, his only “shelter” from storms and heat a flimsy plastic crate with – to stop it from blowing away – a cinderblock inside. He was so emaciated that you could almost wrap a single hand around his body. The fieldworkers had been there before, when Chico was neglected but had more flesh on his bones, and had done everything they could to try to persuade his disinterested family to let them find him a loving indoor home. This time, perhaps fearing arrest, his owners relented. In his foster home, Chico gained weight quickly, slept soundly, and started flashing a playful smile. Soon, he found a loving indoor home with a family determined to make up for lost time. 

Working to Stop Cruelty at the Source 

PETA has helped tens of thousands of dogs, cats, and other animals in more than 275 towns across rural Virginia and North Carolina in the last year alone, spending over $3 million to provide vital services and supplies to animals whose guardians cannot afford them. Many of the people whose dogs and cats we serve – our real clients – are unemployed, elderly, and/or disabled, living on food stamps in a food desert, and they have no car or other means of transportation. We provide essential veterinary care, spay/neuter surgeries, doghouses, straw bedding in winter, food, and – for those who are severely ill, injured, aged, and dying – compassionate end-of-life services. 

PETA fieldworker Jenny shaved blankets of matted fur off of Betty and Coconut, who were kept outside 24/7, helping spare them from overheating. 

We also work with media outlets across the US to issue urgent warnings and animal care tips ahead of heatwaves, winter storms, and natural disasters. And we push for lifesaving legislation such as Duke’s Rescue Act, a North Carolina bill that would ban tethering during severe weather and implement basic standards of care that don’t exist under current state law. The bill’s namesake, Duke, was kept outside on a chain until PETA found the remains of another dog who’d starved to death on the property and sued for custody of Duke and four other survivors. Duke was adopted by one of the people who helped rescue him. 

For dogs like Big Mama, Chico, and Duke, relief is only the beginning – a crucial step toward what they truly need: safety, love, and a real life.